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Ideological representations of people with mental illness in Malaysian online newspapers: a critical discourse analysis

The news media’s role in shaping knowledge about mental illness has long been recognised as one of the primary conduits through which the public learns about people with mental health conditions. Despite a proliferation of research on media portrayals of mental illness, there seems to be a lac...

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Main Authors: Niveethene Murugaiah,, Marlina Jamal,, Manjet Kaur Mehar Singh,
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2024
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/24633/1/Gema%20Online_24_3_4.pdf
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/24633/
https://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/issue/view/1733
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spelling my-ukm.journal.246332025-01-02T03:07:11Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/24633/ Ideological representations of people with mental illness in Malaysian online newspapers: a critical discourse analysis Niveethene Murugaiah, Marlina Jamal, Manjet Kaur Mehar Singh, The news media’s role in shaping knowledge about mental illness has long been recognised as one of the primary conduits through which the public learns about people with mental health conditions. Despite a proliferation of research on media portrayals of mental illness, there seems to be a lack of studies critically examining how people with mental illness (PwMI) are constructed in mainstream and independent newspapers, especially in the Malaysian context. The present study aims to comparatively examine how PwMI are ideologically represented in mainstream and independent online newspapers. Predicated on van Dijk’s (1980) theory of semantic macrostructures and van Dijk’s (1998) ideological square model, twelve news reports from each newspaper were analysed. Findings revealed that the semantic macrostructures constructed from the news reports mainly centred on the topic of the dangerousness, vulnerability, and human rights of PwMI. The prominent “othering” of PwMI was particularly evident in both newspapers, as they were not only depicted as dangerous and violent but also as vulnerable, dependent, and powerless, in juxtaposition to those without mental illness. In addition to providing insights on how online newspapers contribute to the ideological construction of PwMI via topicalisation, the study’s findings have potential implications for media literacy programmes aiming to empower news consumers with critical reading skills in deconstructing public discourses on mental illness. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2024 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/24633/1/Gema%20Online_24_3_4.pdf Niveethene Murugaiah, and Marlina Jamal, and Manjet Kaur Mehar Singh, (2024) Ideological representations of people with mental illness in Malaysian online newspapers: a critical discourse analysis. GEMA: Online Journal of Language Studies, 24 (3). pp. 53-72. ISSN 1675-8021 https://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/issue/view/1733
institution Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
building Tun Sri Lanang Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
content_source UKM Journal Article Repository
url_provider http://journalarticle.ukm.my/
language English
description The news media’s role in shaping knowledge about mental illness has long been recognised as one of the primary conduits through which the public learns about people with mental health conditions. Despite a proliferation of research on media portrayals of mental illness, there seems to be a lack of studies critically examining how people with mental illness (PwMI) are constructed in mainstream and independent newspapers, especially in the Malaysian context. The present study aims to comparatively examine how PwMI are ideologically represented in mainstream and independent online newspapers. Predicated on van Dijk’s (1980) theory of semantic macrostructures and van Dijk’s (1998) ideological square model, twelve news reports from each newspaper were analysed. Findings revealed that the semantic macrostructures constructed from the news reports mainly centred on the topic of the dangerousness, vulnerability, and human rights of PwMI. The prominent “othering” of PwMI was particularly evident in both newspapers, as they were not only depicted as dangerous and violent but also as vulnerable, dependent, and powerless, in juxtaposition to those without mental illness. In addition to providing insights on how online newspapers contribute to the ideological construction of PwMI via topicalisation, the study’s findings have potential implications for media literacy programmes aiming to empower news consumers with critical reading skills in deconstructing public discourses on mental illness.
format Article
author Niveethene Murugaiah,
Marlina Jamal,
Manjet Kaur Mehar Singh,
spellingShingle Niveethene Murugaiah,
Marlina Jamal,
Manjet Kaur Mehar Singh,
Ideological representations of people with mental illness in Malaysian online newspapers: a critical discourse analysis
author_facet Niveethene Murugaiah,
Marlina Jamal,
Manjet Kaur Mehar Singh,
author_sort Niveethene Murugaiah,
title Ideological representations of people with mental illness in Malaysian online newspapers: a critical discourse analysis
title_short Ideological representations of people with mental illness in Malaysian online newspapers: a critical discourse analysis
title_full Ideological representations of people with mental illness in Malaysian online newspapers: a critical discourse analysis
title_fullStr Ideological representations of people with mental illness in Malaysian online newspapers: a critical discourse analysis
title_full_unstemmed Ideological representations of people with mental illness in Malaysian online newspapers: a critical discourse analysis
title_sort ideological representations of people with mental illness in malaysian online newspapers: a critical discourse analysis
publisher Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
publishDate 2024
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/24633/1/Gema%20Online_24_3_4.pdf
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/24633/
https://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/issue/view/1733
_version_ 1821002971829239808
score 13.235796

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